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Surfaces of surfactant-templated polyacrylamide hydrogels were imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the surface morphology was studied by numerical scaling analysis. The templated gels were formed by polymerizing acrylamide plus a…
We show that smoothing of multiaffine surfaces that are generated by simulating a crosslinked polymer gel by a frustrated, triangular network of springs of random equilibrium lengths [G.M. Buend{\'\i}a, S.J. Mitchell, P.A. Rikvold, Phys.…
Gels made of telechelic polymers connected by reversible crosslinkers are a versatile design platform for biocompatible viscoelastic materials. Their linear response to a step strain displays a fast, near-exponential relaxation when using…
We model the behaviour of a single colloid embedded in a cross-linked polymer gel, immersed in a viscous background fluid. External fields actuate the particle into a periodic motion, which deforms the embedding matrix and creates a local…
In this thesis the formation and properties of a polymer gel on and at a surface are investigated. The gel under investigation is defined as a three-dimensional network of "phantom" macromolecules that form permanent links with one another…
Gels are used to design bilayered structures with high residual stresses. The swelling of a thin layer on a compliant substrate leads to compressive stresses. The post-buckling of this layer is investigated experimentally; the wavelengths…
We present a percolation model that is inspired by recent works on immiscible two-phase flow in a mixed-wet porous medium made of a mixture of grains with two different wettability properties. The percolation model is constructed on a dual…
We investigated the surface structure of hydrogels of poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) hydrogels synthesized and cross-linked simultaneously by redox free radical polymerization. We demonstrate the existence of a less cross-linked layer…
We introduce a new class of growth models, with a surface restructuring mechanism in which impinging particles may dislodge suspended particles, previously aggregated on the same column in the deposit. The flux of these particles is…
In order to study rheological properties of gelling systems in dilute solution, we investigate the viscosity and the normal stresses in the Zimm model for randomly crosslinked monomers. The distribution of cluster topologies and sizes is…
Percolation in systems made up of randomly placed impermeable grains is often examined in the context of system spanning clusters of connected solids forming above a relatively low critical grain density $\rho_{c1}$ or networks of…
Microgels made of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) are the prototype of soft, thermoresponsive particles widely used to study fundamental problems in condensed matter physics. However, their internal structure is far from homogeneous, and…
In polymers melts and supercooled liquids, the glassy dynamics is characterized by the rattling of monomers or particles in the cage formed by their neighbors. Recently, a direct correlation in such systems, described by a universal scaling…
It is well-known that the architecture of macromolecules plays an important role in the hydrodynamics and viscosity of its semi-diluted solutions. However, the systematic study of the rheology of macromolecules with complex topology, such…
We study swelling and structural properties of ionic microgel suspensions within a comprehensive coarse-grained model that combines the polymeric and colloidal natures of microgels as permeable, compressible, charged spheres governed by…
Charged colloidal monolayers at the interface between water and air (or oil) are used in a large number of chemical, physical and biological applications. Although a considerable experimental and theoretical effort has been devoted in the…
Using statistical field theory supplemented with molecular dynamics simulations, we consider premelting on the surface of ice as a generic consequence of broken hydrogen bonds at the boundary between the condensed and gaseous phases. A…
Polymer gels are comprised of a three-dimensional, cross-linked network that can typically withstand the mechanical deformation associated with both swelling and de-swelling. Thus, gels can be designed with smart behaviors that require both…
The behavior of microgels near surfaces and their adsorption is studied by simple scaling theory. Two different types of microgels can be studied, i.e., fractal type microgels and randomly crosslinked polymer chains. In the first case the…
Many organisms have an elastic skeleton that consists of a closed shell of epithelial cells that is filled with fluid, and can actively regulate both elastic forces in the shell and hydrostatic pressure inside it. In this work we introduce…